Environment Breaking news on the environment, climate change, pollution, and endangered species. Also featuring Climate Connections, a special series on climate change co-produced by NPR and National Geographic.

Environment

Friday November 28, 2025

An olive ridley sea turtle hatchling lurches along the sand to the sea in Velas, India. Diaa Hadid/NPR hide caption

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Diaa Hadid/NPR

A bright spot for turtles: Olive ridleys are recovering in India, but still at risk

November 28, 2025 • India's olive ridley turtle numbers appear to have rebounded after years of patchwork efforts to stem their decline. Can it last?

These sea turtles in India have rebounded after years of patchwork efforts

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Wednesday November 26, 2025

A look inside the fusion energy device under construction in Mass.

WBUR

November 26, 2025 • Scientists have been trying to solve the riddle of fusion energy for decades. Scott Kirsner, a columnist with our editorial partner MassLive, joins WBUR's Morning Edition to report on Commonwealth Fusion Systems' progress.

A look inside the fusion energy device under construction in Mass.

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A Massachusetts bank passes a milestone: 10 million rare seeds

WBUR

November 26, 2025 • The Native Plant Trust received a $1.5 million gift to conserve and protect rare and endangered New England plants. The gift will help fund the groups's seed bank, which just surpassed ten million seeds in its collection.

A compost facility in Staten Island, New York aims to repurpose the city's food scraps and yard waste into fertilizer. Keren Carrion/NPR hide caption

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Keren Carrion/NPR

Analysis

The U.S. produces a lot of food waste. This place wants to address it

November 26, 2025 • Even amid rising grocery prices and increased sensitivity to environmental issues, Americans still trash once-edible food at alarming rates.

Tuesday November 25, 2025

Mount Rainier is shrinking (just a bit), new study finds

KUOW

November 25, 2025 • The Pacific Northwest’s highest peak is a little less lofty than it used to be, according to a new study.

Health

Influx of data centers threatens air quality, public health in Atlanta, environmental activists say

Georgia Public Broadcasting

November 25, 2025 • Clean air advocates say unchecked growth in Georgia’s data center industry could harm public health — especially in metro Atlanta.

Influx of data centers threatens air quality, public health in Atlanta, environmental activists say

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Monday November 24, 2025

‘His eyes were as big as saucers.’ Remembering the Whatcom Creek explosion

KUOW

November 24, 2025 • "It's not an easy story to tell." That's the way host Chris Morgan introduces a recent episode of his podcast "The Wild." The focus is a terrible accident that occurred 26 years ago, on June 10, 1999, in Bellingham, Washington. The Olympic Pipeline explosion killed three boys and destroyed a large swath of the Whatcom Creek Watershed. KUOW’s Kim Malcolm talked to Morgan about what happened and the recovery process.

‘His eyes were as big as saucers.’ Remembering the Whatcom Creek explosion

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Here & Now

What Indigenous people raised at COP30 climate talks

WBUR

November 24, 2025 • A record number of Indigenous people from around the world took part in the talks this year.

What Indigenous people raised at COP30 climate talks

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Saturday November 22, 2025

André Corrêa do Lago, COP30 president, sits as Simon Stiell, United Nations climate chief, left, speaks with other U.N. officials during a plenary session at the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Belem, Brazil.

André Corrêa do Lago, center, the president of the COP30 climate conference in Brazil, sat as negotiators huddled in last-minute deliberations on Saturday. Andre Penner/AP hide caption

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Andre Penner/AP

Climate

U.N. climate talks end without agreement on phasing out fossil fuels

November 22, 2025 • Dozens of countries had called for a clear "roadmap" to transition away from the use of coal, oil and natural gas. The U.S. did not participate in the negotiations.

Friday November 21, 2025

'I thought he was dead.' Crabbing crew recount dramatic rescue off Washington coast

KUOW

November 21, 2025 • Marcus Cole, the co-owner of the crabbing vessel "Lady Nancy," has been fishing the waters off the coast of Washington state since 1999. Monday morning, he and his crew heard a distress call from a boat called the Abby C. The coordinates placed the boat 20 miles from Cole's location near the entrance of Grays Harbor.

'I thought he was dead.' Crabbing crew recount dramatic rescue off Washington coast

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Makah Tribe’s treaty-protected whaling rights remain blocked after more than 25 years

KUOW

November 21, 2025 • Despite the Makah Tribe’s success in getting a waiver to carry out their exclusive treaty right for whaling, the permitting process that had dragged on for over 20 years has now been effectively delayed another year and a half because of bogged-down federal bureaucracy. The Makah Tribe is the only one in the Lower 48 that has an exclusive treaty right to whaling.

Here & Now

Climate negotiators near the finish line after fire prompts evacuations at COP30

WBUR

November 21, 2025 • The United Nations' big climate conference was set to end Friday in Brazil. But a fire broke out at the conference venue Thursday night, leading to evacuations and a delay in the climate talks.

Climate negotiators near the finish line after fire prompts evacuations at COP30

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Boston

More than 400 hazardous sites in New England at risk for coastal flooding, new study finds

WBUR

November 21, 2025 • In New England, the majority of sites are located in Massachusetts, followed by Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire. More than half of the sites at risk are industrial facilities.

Can a watershed have legal rights? The Snohomish River debate deepens

KUOW

November 21, 2025 • The tide is turning in a Snohomish County legal battle over whether a river and its watershed have legal rights that can be defended in court.

Thursday November 20, 2025

In this frame from video provided by Catherine Ellis, flames engulf pavilions at the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit on Thursday in Belem, Brazil. Catherine Ellis/AP hide caption

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Catherine Ellis/AP

World

Fire prompts evacuations at U.N. climate talks in Brazil; 13 suffer smoke inhalation

November 20, 2025 • Officials say a fire that spread through pavilions being used for U.N. climate talks in Brazil has prompted evacuations on the next-to-last day of the conference.